Those who remember the turn of the millennium probably remember two things above all else.
First, there was all that Y2K bug hysteria. (Google it, kids.)
Second, it was a really, really big deal. Like, for everybody, everywhere around the globe.
Here at St. Tammany Health System, leadership decided to mark the occasion by embarking upon the single-biggest construction project to that point in the health system’s history.
Fittingly dubbed the New Millennium Project, it would take six years to complete, during which time the health system’s Communication Department meticulously charted every phase of it in a binder now stuffed with all manner of related materials.
It gets the spotlight in today’s installment of 70 for 70, our 70-week, 70-part series celebrating St. Tammany Health System’s upcoming 70th anniversary.
Installment No. 34: The dawn of a new era
Today’s artifact: A three-ring binder containing an array of documents charting progress of the New Millennium Project, starting with the driving of the first pilings and finishing with the striping of the parking lots six years later.
Why it is significant: Just as it is hard to overstate how the turn of the new millennium dominated news coverage leading up to Jan. 1, 2000, it is just as hard to overstate the importance of the New Millennium Project to St. Tammany Health System.
Starting in June 1999 and continuing through 2004, the $46 million project tripled the size of the health system’s flagship St. Tammany Parish Hospital and was highlighted by construction of a new three-story addition to its longtime campus on South Tyler Street. By the time work was complete, it had directly impacted nearly every major hospital department.
That included, among other things, the addition of six endoscopy rooms, 17 post-anesthesia units, 11 operating rooms, two cardiac catheterization labs, a 26-room outpatient surgery center, a new kitchen and cafeteria, and the addition of a glass-enclosed atrium lobby to serve as an architectural welcome mat for the community.
To keep track of it all, the health system’s Communication team preserved the sometimes-weekly construction updates in a binder -- neatly organized with an array of stick-on tabs -- that today also serves as a repository of related ephemera collected along the way, including photos of the groundbreaking, newspaper clippings, invitations, press releases and the like.
Back then, it was a handy and frequently referenced source of at-your-fingertips information on nearly every element of the project.
Today, it is a fascinating historical artifact, documenting in detail what would in a very real sense mark a new beginning for the hospital, which – thanks to the New Millennium Project and related projects – was transformed from a one-time small-town hospital into the fully modernized regional medical center it is today.
Do you have a St. Tammany Parish Hospital story or item to share? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at CommDept@stph.org.
Next week – Installment No. 35: Petal power
Last week – Installment No. 33: Honor roll